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One hundred twelve become U.S. citizens at Southport ceremony

Doneta Francine Mazele receives an American flag after becoming an American citizen during the N.C. 4th of July Festival's naturalization ceremony in Southport on July 3, 2013. Mazele is from the Congo and was one of 112 people from 49 countries who received their citizenship.

Published: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at 9:05 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at 9:05 p.m.

Spencer Coleman Sr. wildly snapped pictures on his iPad as he proudly watched two of his sons take the oath of U.S. citizenship and receive their official certificates – with complimentary American flags, of course.

Doneta Francine Mazele receives an American flag after becoming an American citizen during the N.C. 4th of July Festival's naturalization ceremony in Southport on July 3, 2013. Mazele is from the Congo and was one of 112 people from 49 countries who received their citizenship.

Photo by Matt Born

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During the 17th annual Fourth of July Naturalization Ceremony in Southport, 112 people took the oath and celebrated their first moments as U.S. citizens.

The candidates sat under a white tent on Garrison Lawn outside Fort Johnston as dozens of spectators watched in the shade for the hour-and-a-half ceremony. Compared to the time it took most new citizens to complete naturalization, the ceremony was a breeze.

For many, the process for naturalization was long and tedious. Doneta Francine Mazell left the Congo in 1996 to follow her husband. She applied for citizenship through naturalization seven years ago.

Mazell said the process included a lot of paperwork and a lot of money. But in the end, it was worth it.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a very long time and I finally got it,” Mazell said. “I am very grateful.”

For Spencer Coleman Sr., who has an older daughter and son still in Liberia, the wait is all too familiar.

Coleman’s two children in Liberia have been waiting since 2007 to join him and their three brothers. It is paperwork that is holding them back, he said.

Spencer Coleman Jr. and Mac Coleman were the only two new citizens Wednesday who came from Liberia. The Coleman family left Liberia to escape civil war.

Coleman Jr. said their father “did not want us to stay and experience that and have a negative effect on our minds.”

They arrived in the United States on Aug. 12, 2004, and have been residing in Fayetteville since. Coleman Sr. also has a younger son who will become a U.S. citizen on his 18th birthday.

Judge Marion R. Warren of North Carolina’s 13th Judicial District gave the keynote address of the afternoon.

“The families that I see, proudly taking photographs and videos, they’re here for you. The quintessential American moment,” Warren said to the candidates before their oath. “Welcome, I know it has been a long time coming.”

The candidates taking part in the ceremony originated from 49 countries, with some from as close as Canada or Mexico (which had the most new citizens), while others were from as far away as Burma and China.

After Warren’s keynote address, the Southport Community Choir performed “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” One member of the choir had himself taken the oath of citizenship at that very location in 2009.

Jay Weselmann from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administered the oath at the end of the ceremony. Raucous cheering followed the recitation of the oath, in which the new citizens pledged their allegiance to the United States.

After the rumble of cannons saluted the new citizens and signaled the end of the ceremony, Coleman Jr. sat with his brother at a reception sponsored by the local Daughters of the Revolution chapter. At the door was a table with voting registration forms. Coleman Jr. had grabbed one on his way in and was already filling it out.

“It means everything to me,” he said. “It means that I have the right and opportunity to be a U.S. citizen, which few people are privileged to have. I have to take advantage of being a U.S. citizen and utilize that to affect life positively.”